Volume XI

I. Thrown under the bus 🚌

This one’s a classic. Something gets broken at the sleepover, and next thing you know your name’s getting tossed around the group chat.

The phrase only dates back to the 1980s, first showing up in political writing by British parliament member Julian Critchley before hitting U.S. sports and media. No deep folklore, just a brutal image that stuck. Big vehicle, bigger betrayal.

Nowadays, it’s office-speak for getting blamed to save someone else’s skin.

II. Bury the hatchet 🪓 

A phrase that sounds like it came from a poorly directed early 2000s Western flick, but actually has roots far older and deeper.

It originates from a real ceremonial tradition practiced by Native American tribes more than 400 years ago, particularly the Iroquoian tribe, who would literally bury weapons like tomahawks to mark the end of a conflict.

Leave “squash the beef” to the teenagers. This phrase packs the power of a truce, just without the dirt and shovels.

III. Catch my drift 🌊

This one’s versatile - a Swiss Army knife of sayings if you will. The origin actually goes way back to the 19th century, when drift referred to the general direction or tendency of something. Boats had drift. Conversations had drift. And soon, so did smooth jazz.

By the 1950s, it gained cultural traction in American slang. It meant reading between the lines, catching a cue with a wink, filling in what was better left unsaid.

Now, it rolls off the tongue in everything from casual conversations to corporate coffee chats. If someone’s lacking, just dial it up with the more direct: you picking up what I’m putting down?

Keep on sending on. Forward to a friend.